


Fuss

by no_i



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: #1 Dad Ardyn Izunia, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Babies, Baby Noctis Lucis Caelum, Father-Son Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 01:58:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18305849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/no_i/pseuds/no_i
Summary: During an early winter morn, the kingdom of Lucis had found itself in a tizzy over whatever stranger had made their way into the Citadel the night prior.





	Fuss

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt:  
>  _Ardyn steals (rescues) baby Noctis_  
>  _Because fuck you, Bahamut._
> 
> i don't think i'll ever write more for this au than this, but ardyn and baby noct was such a cute mental image that i couldn't help but write this. shhh, i can tell myself they're happy if i want. ;A;

During an early winter morn, the kingdom of Lucis had found itself in a tizzy over whatever stranger had made their way into the Citadel the night prior.

Only the stranger himself knew what had become of the baby. He had the boy, of course he had the boy, swaddled in his scarf and held in a delicate grip he thought he was no longer capable of. He had stowed the child beneath his coat, hoping the damned thing wouldn't start getting fussy until they had at least passed through Lestallum. That he was still able to drive with the child beneath his clothes was, for all intents and purposes, a miracle.

Ardyn had thought himself a potential father, long ago, before Bahamut pressed his face to the ground and said all was set in stone. Now, he'd hardly given any thought to what he might be like as a parent. There was no chance of this. After Aera was struck down, his future, their future, had been stolen.

Yet here he was, smuggling a baby, barely three months of age, through Leide, hoping that no god could hold him down this time. If he bore the burden of fatherhood, even if simply out of spite, Ardyn could only hope that was the first wrench tossed into a centuries-long plan.

Noctis, the boy was called, was certainly cute to most. With a head of soft black hair - The hair passed down by his wretched ancestors, generation after generation - and eyes blue as dusk, he was the sort of child that would inspire jealousy in whatever parent had decided to give him the time of day.

A pity that his mother had died a mere month after his birth. An absolute tragedy. Ardyn swore he could recall every damned report. Speculations that her sickness had been poisoning (and it had been, he knew it had been, but nobody outside Niflheim would dare know of its greatest accomplishment), a kingdom mourning that their queen had died so soon into her life. So soon after her son's birth.

Perhaps it was for the better that she not be present in the world of the living, though.

In the end, no Chosen meant no prophecy. It meant that there was nothing left for the world at large, that the Astrals would be forced to take a loss after all they had inflicted upon their Accursed. Though Ardyn had taken the boy, whether or not he would raise him was another story entirely. Though he had no shame in his deeds anymore, the poor thing was still a mewling whelp in his arms. Were Ardyn to off the boy, he would have no say in the matter.

It was pitiful enough to resonate with Ardyn.

Beneath his coat, the boy shifted.

It seemed driving any further would have to wait.

"Awake already?" Ardyn said, bringing his car to a halt beside the lonely desert road, "Good morning, then."

As he carefully pulled back the side of his coat, Ardyn once again had a good look at Noctis's face. His eyes were still shut tight, and only seemed to close tighter as he was uncovered. For what felt much longer than it should have, Noctis was silent, as if trying to get his bearings. For a moment, it almost seemed as if this boy, a mere baby, knew he was lost.

Then the boy spoke up, his cries (already barely tolerable, but not quite loud enough that Ardyn was incapable of thinking) crescendoing into high-pitched _wails._ Ardyn flinched at this - Aside from how damned  _loud_ it was, something that would easily reveal their place, it seemed  _endless._  Much as Ardyn had thought he'd prepared for such an occurrence, Noctis had proven to have lungs of cast iron, with only the occasional yawn or hiccup silencing him.

Inhaling deeply, Ardyn forced a smile and gently ran a hand along Noctis's cheek.

"You poor thing. The road is terribly rough here. Shhh..."

Ardyn pressed a finger to Noctis's mouth, letting him suckle away at it. It was a shot in the dark, really. If he'd soiled Ardyn's scarf, Ardyn could simply clean it later. If he was hungry, and Ardyn had little doubt he was, he'd be fed as soon as the chance presented itself. The present, pressing matter was getting him away from his old home, safe and healthy enough that he not keel over and die. Safe and healthy enough that he be kept away from prying eyes. From the Empire, who would rip this child apart, and from his kingdom, which would blindly allow him to walk towards his and Ardyn's seemingly assured doom.

As Noctis's cries died down into soft whimpers, Ardyn felt warmth swelling in his chest. Satisfaction, he wished he could say it was. He was doing his part.

So much to do. So little time before someone noticed.

Who he had really done it for, he couldn't say. What mattered then was that Noctis was no longer wailing into the quiet of Leide at four in the morning, giving away their position to anyone with a functioning pair of ears.

Ardyn tried to pull his finger away from the baby in his arms, to no avail. Noctis wasn't about to let go.

"Mmh...You cannot do that forever," Ardyn mumbled, "But I suppose you have earned this. You've done very well."

Letting out a sigh of resignation, Ardyn turned towards the horizon. The world had stilled. The Astrals could no longer chain him.

And for a moment, he had _won._


End file.
